Two persons, including a woman, died in lightning strikes in West Bengal's Malda district on Friday, officials said. Bijoli Mondal (40) was cutting grass for cattle near her home at Pirganj village in the morning when lightning struck her, they said. Montu Karmakar (60), a carpenter, was struck by lightning when he was working in front of his house under a polythene shed during a thunderstorm, they added. The dead bodies of both the persons were sent to Malda Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem, officials said.
The Met department has warned of heavy rain in most north Bengal districts till Tuesday owing to an active monsoon trough.
While heavy to very heavy downpour is likely in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Coochbehar till Tuesday, the weather office has forecast heavy rain or thunderstorms in North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda district till Saturday morning.
The weatherman has also forecast thunderstorms in all the districts of south Bengal till Sunday morning.
Mathabhanga in Coochbehar district recorded the highest rainfall at 23 cm in the 24 hours till 8.30 am on Friday, while Buxaduar recorded 16 cm rain during the same period.
Alipurduar (12 cm), Domohoni (11 cm), Sevoke (9 cm), Falakata (6 cm) and Nagrakata (5 cm) were the other places in sub-Himalayan Bengal which recorded a significant amount of rainfall, the weather office said.
Latest India News
